The aftermath of the Big Ten postponing their fall football season has been interesting to say the least.
From Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren staying silent for more than a week after the announcement, to Justin Fields’ petition, to the #WeWantToPlay movement, to parent protests, to Warren’s letter explaining the decision–it’s safe to say the last two weeks have been anything but linear.
Well, yesterday the headlines continued to pour in as Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos spoke with Sam McKewon of the Omaha World Herald and explained that all of the Big Ten ADs were in favor of playing the season.
“Warren was aware, for example, that every Big Ten athletic director was in favor of playing a fall football season,” the article reads. “Moos said he, Ohio State’s, Penn State’s and Michigan’s A.D.s pushed hardest, but there was unanimous agreement in wanting to play. ‘[Warren] knew where we were coming from, and he was the messenger to the presidents and chancellors,’ Moos said.”
What has become clear from this piece and many other pieces of news since the cancellation is that there is a massive disconnect between the school presidents and the ADs and coaches. If you need anything during a time like this it’s constant communication and leadership.
It has become clear that the conference has had none of that.
“As easy as consistent Zoom meetings between all parties would have been — all it takes is a computer and a room without chaos — they didn’t happen,” the article explains.
“‘I knew where our people stood, but I would have liked to have been in the room when they expressed it to the commissioner and our presidents and chancellors,’ Moos said. ‘The commissioner was operating in silos, and the silos weren’t connected. And, in the end, that created varying degrees of communication not being delivered.’”
Related: What the NCAA can do to fix the structure of college football and save the sport
Say what you want about whether the season should happen, but the future of the sport doesn’t look promising if the athletic directors are far-removed from decisions like this one that have wide-ranging implications on the future of the sport.
Let’s hope the parties are able to come together in planning the spring season if it turns out it is possible to play.
Check back into BadgersWire all fall as we follow the developments related to the postponement and look ahead to the potential spring season.